David Farnor | On 05, Nov 2019

Viacom and Facebook Watch are teaming up for a slate of new short-form original series.

The series, created by Viacom Digital Studios, will be exclusively for the social network’s burgeoning video platform in Europe, Americas and Asia, as part of its publisher and creator video incubation programme.

In the UK, Viacom channel MTV will produce 75 10-minute episodes, based around six of its existing linear series, with localised versions produced for audiences in Germany, France and Spain.

Jo Wells, VP, Digital Content, MTV International said in a statement: “This is a really exciting partnership which will enable MTV fans to gain a completely new perspective on our most popular shows, exclusively on Facebook Watch. The partnership extends both how we distribute short-form content and also – at 10 minutes per episode – its typical length, feeding a growing audience appetite for mid-form content.”

Shows in development include one featuring Liv and Louis from More Love and More Lies, and a spin-off from Geordie More and Geordie OGs, as well as Teen Mom UK: Mom’s The Word.

The partnership builds on an MTV UK and Facebook Watch collaboration in 2018, involving interactive quiz gameshow MTV Stax. In October 2018, MTV Studios and Facebook Watch also announced a partnership to produce MTV’s The Real World in Thailand, Mexico and the United States. MTV The Real World: Bangkok premiered exclusively on Facebook Watch from June 13.

The multi-territory agreement, announced at All That Matters 2019 in Singapore, will also see shows created by MTV Asia, with genres ranging across music entertainment, pro-social and reality.

Paras Sharma, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Southeast Asia, VIMN, added: “Creating original content is a key focus for us in Asia. We have a diverse portfolio of original content – from hip hop show YO! MTV Raps and the Comedy Central Stand-Up, Asia! series, to Nickelodeon shorts and esports branded content – that lives on our linear and digital platforms. Working with Facebook further amplifies the content creation opportunity as with this partnership, there is the potential to bring the power of MTV’s original ideas and storytelling to new audiences whenever and wherever they are consuming content.”
 

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